It is really interesting to see WiFi (802.11b) starting to become known to the masses as a potential business in the ISP arena. With Jim Selby in Aspen (see www.macaspen.com) and Boingo (see www.boingo.com) being the ones talked about recently in the blogging circles. There is also an interview by John McChesney of NPR with Jim Selby in Real Audio format here.
The reason this is interesting to me is because I pondered over this business idea while relaxing in the Swiss Alps almost 4 years ago. While just taking it easy in the Alps with no phones, email, or people to bother me, I began to wonder how the heck people get Internet connections in the small towns throughout the Alps. I figured the only economical way would be with an access point on top of every roof in the town with some means of bringing in a single high speed line or something. I thought this would probably work in cities as well especially in high rise buildings where you could service a number of people with much smaller number of access points.
In my usual manner I didn't pursue this venture but it is great to see that others are making a business out of it. Actually, it would be nice to know if they are making money at it so if any of you out there are reading this let me know.
While we are on this subject, the people at Kansas are doing some really slick stuff with mapping wireless networks.
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